Pink Crush
by Kiravu
Summary: All I want is to tell her everything, but to lose her would be to lose myself. Inox Saku main pairing. Rated M for language, violence, future lemons, gore and overall content. Second time uploading this story, rewritten and revamped.
1. Whispers Into The Night

**Pink Crush **

**Chapter One**

**Whispers Into The Night**

**~o~**

_Before I begin, I would like to say a couple things. This is the second release of this fic, the first time I had posted the first ten chapters, I removed it due too a few things. Mostly, disgust with the level it was written at, IE the grammar and style. _

_For those of you who read the original and enjoyed it, I hope you find this revamped version equally, or more so, enjoyable. I have left the storyline mostly in tact, changing a few select aspects that I found too sloppy to recover. Mostly, it is the same story simply rewritten. Enjoy, - Kiravu_

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Cool night air brushed against silky skin, the rhythmic sound of a heart pound filling the dark silence, as well as the young woman's ears. Her fingers trembled slightly as she inched them closer to an all too familiar face.

Gently, she brushed a strand of white-blonde hair lingering on the face that has been the bearer of her torture and joy, away from flawless lips. Sakura swallowed, nervous energy building up as she inched closer, her lips parting, unconscious of the fact that the space between herself and her love was growing smaller with each passing heart beat.

The sheets ran over the pair, purple silky sheets running against her skin as she studied those lips. Her unusual pink hair reached towards the earth's pull, emerald green eyes sparkling from the light perched outside the bedroom window.

The female shinobi could feel her breasts begin to brush against the sleeping beauty beside her. Blushing deeply, her fingers moved down from the wrangled stray hair, running across a warm cheek, flushed with colour. Her eyes drift closed, moving her lips that last miniscule yet seemingly immense space that still stood between them.

"Sakura?" The beauty yawned, causing Sakura's eyes snap open wide, pulling back suddenly.

"Uh, yeah, Ino?" The blushing girl replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling as she turned over, snatching away her hand to hold it against her chest. Through the thin nightshirt that hung to her body loosely, she could feel the beat of her heart pounding to break free of her chest. The smaller female stared out the window close by, panic stricken and trying desperately to get a hold of herself.

"Why are you still up...?" Ino, her best friend, appeared confused as she rubbed her eyes and yawned once more. Ino shifted to lie on her side, studying the turned back of her best friend, a curious expression scrunching up her eyebrows so they twisted together. The blonde beauty pressed her open palm against the back of her friend and felt her warmth spread over her touch, twisting and climbing up the sides of her fingers until she was engrossed in her presence. Letting out a content sigh, she pressed her forehead between her friends shoulder blades, reveling in the muscle and strength hidden between the loose nightshirt.

Sakura's mind raced, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down, breathing deeply.

'It's okay, she didn't see you... what the hell were you thinking anyways?' She scolded herself, pulling the sheets closer around her, trying desperately to ignore the touch that had lit her on fire. Ino's touch was driving her insane, everything in her screamed at her to turn, to embrace the contact that had been offered. It took everything she had to simply not push her away instead.

"Sakura?" Ino questioned again, a perplexed look littering her face, a slight smile tugging at her lips while at the same time the look of confusion gave her eyes an odd look as she stared at the fabric. The look suggesting her thinking of two completely different things that could be keeping the other shinobi awake at this hour.

"Nothing's wrong," Sakura quietly answered, still not trusting herself to raise her voice above a whisper. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and it reappeared instantly, stubbornly reminding her of her incurable nervousness.

Ino smiled, amused with Sakura's need to lie. She could always tell when her best friend was not being honest with her, it was a side effect of spending her entire life around the annoying girl. Besides that, it was odd for the brain to overlook something so basic.

"I didn't ask if anything was wrong, dork. I asked why you were still awake," Sakura gulped as she listened to Ino smile behind her back, if smiles could be heard, then she most certainly heard it. Her mind raced to find the proper reply to get herself out of the sticky mess.

Ino seemed to sense her distress, tightening her hold on the panicked girls shirt as she slipped a hand underneath, rubbing her fingers over the skin of her back. Sakura's skin was flawless under her touch, satin like skin covered hard muscle surrounding the dip of her spine and the ridges of her ribs. Ino shivered and forced her hand not to torment the other girl anymore than she already had.

"O-oh, well, I just had a really realistic dream and it woke me up," Sakura lied, hoping the stutter in her answer was unnoticed. She waited to see if the subject would be dropped and Ino would fall back asleep and hopefully forget anything had happened by the time she woke up. Besides it wasn't a complete lie, it had certainly seemed like a dream to her and it certainly had been _very_ realistic. Unfortunately for her, luck was not on Sakura's side.

Ino moved to spoon the smaller girl, pressing her chest against her friends back, rubbing her thighs against the back of her legs. She ran her hands around to rest on her toned stomach, stifling a moan – barely – when her hips rubbed against Sakura's ass.

"Was it a nightmare?" Ino teased, tilting her lips so they whispered directly into other girls ears.

Sakura's heart renewed it's frenzied pounding with more vigor that before, her attempt at calming down being utterly shattered as she felt the blonde's body press up against hers, soft breasts pushing against her back. She coiled away on reflex, balling up as her grip on the front of her shirt changed to gift Ino's sheets with a death grip.

"N-no," stammered Sakura, very aware at how close Ino's lips had come to brushing her ear, even if the blonde herself must not have been aware of that fact.

'I doubt she would even think of anything like that, we're just friends... why is my mind always in the gutter?' She swallowed again, not daring to move, or trusting where her hands might end up if she didn't stay focused.

"So, it was an erotic dream then?" Ino taunted, stating more than asking as she bit at her friend's ear, teeth barely grazing skin. Sakura shivered and wondered once again how she had gotten into this situation to begin with and why Ino so loved to tease her, without a single thought of how much she was affecting her friend. Briefly the thought of returning the favor graced her inner eye, only for her to squash the notion instantly.

"No," she replied quickly, embarrassed.

'Maybe I should just tell her it was a weird dream about Naruto being eaten by a bowl of ramen and she will lose interest,' Sakura thought, formulating a story in her mind that would sedate the seductress spooning her. Maybe then her heart would leave the danger zone of having an attack.

Ino appeared to pout, resting her chin against her friend's shoulder, seemingly unaware of the trauma she was inflicting.

"Well then, what were you dreaming about?" She yawned, eyes drifting shut again, losing interest since the two most interesting topics did not appear to be the case. In truth the blonde wanted nothing more than to fall asleep as she was, wrapped around the smaller female without a care in the world. She worried if their conversation lasted much longer Sakura would move away and leave her with a pang, and a yearning to be surrounded by her heat once more.

"Naruto being eaten by a bowl of ramen," Sakura replied too quickly, hopeful that her fib would quench her friend's curiosity. When Ino didn't reply the panic stricken girl became very aware of the soft breathing by her ear, and that Ino hadn't released her before falling back asleep. Very carefully she glanced over her shoulder to look directly at the peaceful sleeping face of her best friend.

Blushing deeply, she cursed inwardly. 'Why do you have to be so damn gorgeous?' Sakura sighed heavily. 'Well I know I won't be getting to sleep anytime soon,' the heat between her legs would make sure of that and there was little chance of it subsiding easily with the way she was now.

Laying awake, Sakura listened as her heart continued to pound in her ears, beating quickly in contrast to the soft, slow breathing of her sleeping companion. Sakura closed her eyes and tried to picture one of the days she had spent with the blonde back when they had both first entered the academy for the Leaf shinobi.

Sakura could smell the flowers that surrounded them, she heard their teacher speaking in the background, but couldn't make out what she was saying, that detail wasn't really that important to the memory anyways.

Sakura thought back to the assignment they had been given, to make a flower bouquet that described themselves. The female shinobi had at first, wandered around picking flowers at random and putting them together before walking back to her new friend; Ino had smiled at her and looked at what she had come up with. Sakura remembered the way her friend had gently explained to her the different parts of a bouquet and how to build one.

Thinking about the different flowers Ino had explained to her, she quietly asked, "Ino if you're a Cosmos flower, am I just a Thoroughwort?"

Sakura sat glumly comparing Ino to the beautiful white flower and herself to a weed-like and gangly one, the comparison in her eyes was easy to make.

Ino sighed, her eyes closing as she tilted her face up to the sun's rays, a faint smile lifting the corner of her lips.

"What are you talking about?" Ino paused to think before she continued, "well... if you ask me, you aren't even a flower yet, you're still a bud." The blonde smiled brightly at her friend.

Sakura returned her look, however uncertain of what to make of the comment, she looked down at her feet in the grass.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed quietly, a sad edge to her reply. "Ino?" She inquired.

"Yeah?" Her friend replied, wiggling her toes in the grass as she stared to the heavens.

"Why did you give me this ribbon?" Sakura asked, wrapping her arms around her knees, pulling them in close. Ino frowned and studied her friend for a moment, before replacing it with smile.

"Because I thought it would be a waste for you to wither away as a bud." Sakura blushed deeply, hiding behind a curtain of hair. "There's no meaning to a flower unless it blooms, and who knows – your bud might turn out to be a flower more beautiful than a Cosmos," Ino beamed, not noticing as her friend's eyes became wet with tears.

"Thank you, Ino," Sakura had replied quietly.

Sakura sighed, the pounding of her heart had dulled a little as she recalled the memory. 'I was so shy, I still am, sorta,' she thought to herself.

Suddenly she scowled 'Damn that Ino-pig for being such a smooth talker, it's her fault I'm having a full blown heart attack right now and she doesn't even know!' Ino had always been there for her, when all the other children were busy calling her billboard brow. Sakura thought back to the deep red ribbon Ino had given her, it was to hold her hair back.

Sakura's solution to her big forehead was to cover it with her bangs, but Ino had convinced her that would only make it worse. 'Leave it to Ino to know about hair styles and how to make your forehead look smaller when I was still having trouble tying up my shoes. The younger shinobi sighed heavily as she felt Ino's arms tighten around her stomach under her shirt, squeezing them closer together. Any amount her heart had slowed down was instantly reversed back into a full blown panic and Sakura blushed once more.

"Dammit, I'm really not gonna get any sleep tonight," she muttered, spitting out the words like venom.

_'Don't lie, you're greatly enjoying this,'_ her inner ego mocked her. Scowling, her memories skipped forward a few years.

"I heard you like Sasuke," a young, teenage Ino had accused Sakura, her face looking a little hurt.

"Yeah, I do," Sakura replied, blushing a little. She didn't really have a thing for the raven haired boy, she was just going along with every other teenage girl who were currently crushing on him. Trying to fit in instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, it was easier that way.

"Yeah, well, just so you know, I like him too," Ino had replied, smugly tilting her chin up.

"Oh, wow, you do, Ino?" Sakura inquired, eyes wide as she stared at her friend, not comprehending the devastating mistake she had just made, thrilled there was something else they could share.

"So, I guess this makes us rivals," Ino had replied.

Sakura blinked and looked out at the streetlight shining in through the open window of the apartment Ino owned. The memory left a bitter taste in her mouth, that had started it all, the feud that drove a wedge between the two friends, both pledging to win the Uchiha's heart.

"Fuck you, Sasuke," Sakura growled, suddenly infuriated. She knew she shouldn't blame him, if the teenage girl fad had been on anyone else they would be equally as guilty right now in her eyes. Sakura had known she had always had strong feelings for Ino, boys seemed dull... uninteresting, compared to her. How could anyone not? Ino was perfect.

It wasn't until much later she realized they were more than feelings for a friend. The competition for Sasuke had almost ruined their friendship, Sakura was too stubborn to admit that she really didn't have any interest, and afraid of what would be asked if she did. Instead, simply refusing to lose and hurting at the same time. Eventually her attempt to fit in had turned in to years of rivalry between her and her best friend until she was no longer certain of why they were even still at odds.

Sakura's mind wandered to the chunin exams that happened years later, when Sakura was in a true pinch out of nowhere Ino had appeared, dragging Shikamaru and Chouji - her squad mates - along with her.

Sakura remembered how amazing Ino had looked, like a guardian angel sent there to look over her, to protect Sakura when she needed it most. Later in the exams they were paired up in a preliminary to compete in a one on one fight.

The pink haired girl had almost swallowed her tongue when she saw the random name selection show her and Ino's name on the big screen. They had both fought with everything they had, but held back reflexively whenever a blow would truly harm the other. It had been an emotional ride, neither truly wanting to fight and in the end finishing in a double knock out, a draw.

Sakura remembered what it was like waking up, opening her eyes to see Ino looking at her, concern flashing in her blue eyes. For a moment Sakura had forgotten their feud and felt like a kid again, smiling wistfully back at the blonde.

'After that,' Sakura thought silently, 'well, we started to become friends again after that, albeit that neither of us would break down and admit it, but we were talking and it was a start.'

Sakura smiled broadly and looked over her shoulder once again, looking at the sleeping face of her secret love resting against her shoulder, admiring the way the moon's rays complimented her skin tone so well. Slowly she made a little room between them, turning over so she was facing the gorgeous blonde now. Hesitantly, she raised her hand to move the same strand of hair that was again, trying to hide part of Ino's perfect face.

"Sakura," Ino breathed faintly, it was so quiet Sakura froze and wondered if she had really heard it. Blinking, she stayed perfectly still and listened. Heart pounding, a dozen scenarios played through her mind, Ino expressing her love unknowingly in her sleep, Ino confessing a desire for her, Ino...

"Go to sleep, your fidgeting keeps waking me up," Ino mumbled, unmoving.

_'Ino, annoyed because you're being creepy, horny and stalkerish,'_ Sakura's inner ego confirmed.

Sakura's face turned a deep crimson as she stared in disbelief, Ino's lips curved into a smile, whispering softly, "you're such a dork." Ino pulled her arms tight around Sakura again, pulling her close, crushing the smaller girl against her chest.

Sakura lay unmoving before letting her head rest in the nape of Ino's neck, marveling at how perfect her skin looked, felt, and smelt. Breathing deeply, Sakura yawned.

'Maybe I will be able to sleep after all, how can I not? Being held in the arms, by the woman I love.'

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Alright, chapter one of Pink Crush. I have the first ten already written for those who read the original version of this fic. So they should be updated quick-ish. No promises, I have an addiction to sleep that my best friend assures me is a little bit excessive.

Thanx for reading, let me know what you think! Drop a review if you have time / feel like it, I'd love to hear any thoughts or opinions on your mind! - Kiravu


	2. Man, I Feel Like A Woman

**Pink Crush**

**Chapter Two**

**Man, I Feel Like A Woman**

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_Before I start this chapter I want to dedicate this chapter to a very enjoyable girl scouts leader. For her years of waking us up, smashing pots and pans, all while blaring this song throughout the entire campground and singing at the top of her lungs... even if it was at 5 am._

_I obviously don't own Naruto, and I'm not Shania Twain. BTW if you don't know the song Shania Twain - Man I Feel Like A Woman, I would strongly suggest you YouTube it before reading this, or just because. You know, since Shania Twain is the best artist in the world. So uh, whose bed your boots been under? Those who get that reference rule. Alright, ending ramble now._

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Sakura blinked her eyes open slowly, staring forward as rumpled purple sheets came into focus. Groggily, she tried to make sense of where she was, it occurred to her slowly that something was missing. But, no matter how hard the genius ninja tried to focus, the solution to her puzzle wouldn't show itself. Maybe she should have gotten to sleep a little earlier rather than staying up the entire night. Then it occurred to her what was missing.

Bang, bang, bang, bang! The sharp sound of wood hitting metal resounded down the hallway leading into the open doorway of Ino's bedroom. Forcing reluctant eyes to fully open and look around wildly.

"Oh my sexy Sakura, wake up!" Ino screamed from another room in her singsong voice. Obviously greatly enjoying her new found game. It wasn't the title Ino had bestowed on her Shy friend, Ino was a natural flirt, it was the implications of what happened after she used those words.

In an instant Sakura's face was flushed, 'oh... my... g...' She started to mouth, clutching the sheets as music started to blare, dragging them up and over her head, attempting to fit into a hidden crawl space under Ino's sheets. Coming from the living room, she heard Ino's feet make a hurried pace down the hallway, the bedroom door flung open the last few inches and slammed into the far bedroom wall.

_I'm going out tonight – I'm feelin' alright, gonna let it all hang out,_

The music blared, the telltale country singer starting. Standing in the center of the doorway was Ino, hands placed on her slim, curved hips as she held Sakura's gaze with a devilish grin. Sakura began to shake her head slowly in denial, peeking out with one eye from under the sheets, her eyes wandering down to Ino's bare legs. Standing before her was the gorgeous blonde in nothing but her panties and a thin white tank top. Apparently, she had seen a reason to remove a few garments since waking up and not seen a reason to replace them.

_'Fuck yeah!'_ Sakura's inner ego screamed inside her mind, shameless and enjoying the ride.

_Wanna make some noise - really raise my voice, No inhibitions - make no conditions,_

_Get a little outta line, I ain't gonna act politically correct,_

_I only wanna have a good tiiimmmeee..._

The song continued to play as the scene played out before her. Instantly Ino had raced over to the bed and grabbed Sakura's forearms, pulling her loose from her hiding spot and tugging her along with the blonde, skipping backwards to the beat. Desperately, the smaller female tried to get her feet under her as she was dragged out of bed, the sheets sliding down her body as they fell onto the floor, forgotten. She tried to look anywhere but at Ino's bouncing, braless breasts but found it to be a futile effort.

_The best thing about being a woman, in the prerogative to have a little fun, fun fun!_

_Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy - forget I'm a lady! Men's shirts - short skirts!_

As Ino dragged Sakura into the living room the pinkette noticed her friend starting to sing, her voice carrying along with the song perfectly. Sakura blushed as she watched the pure joy splayed across the blonde's face. As the chorus hit, Ino dropped her friend's hands and grabbed an invisible microphone, leaning down slightly as she began belting her voice in to it.

Sakura stood there dumbfounded, not noticing that her pajama pants had slipped rather low on her hips and her night shirt had risen high. Ino winked at her and she glanced down, rushing to fix them.

_Oh, oh, oh, really go wild – yeah, doin' it in style._

_Oh, oh, oh, get in the action - feel the attraction..._

'Damn right I do,' Sakura blushed, her jaw unhinged. Ino pouted playfully and started to dance, pulling out an air guitar, giggling as she slid into place in the living room. Her long couch sitting in the center of the room, a throw rug half underneath the piece of furniture. At the far end of the room, under the main window sits a large flat screen.

Off to the other side of the room, half walled off, if the kitchen Ino had originated the entire scheme from.

"C'mon, Forehead, I know you're pretty good with the drums, help out!" Ino bellowed over the music, her lithe fingers already working the cords to her invisible instrument.

Sakura smiled sheepishly as she watched the blonde rock out to a song that obviously didn't have the maniac beat Ino was playing to.

_Colour my hair - do what I dare,_

_Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free – year, to feel the way I feel. MAN, I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!_

On the key line to the song, Ino tilted her head back and belted out the words to the chorus. Letting out a wolf howl just... just because. The action seemed to fit with the blonde's personality, not the one she showed to the world, but the one she showed to Sakura and only Sakura.

Sakura couldn't help but look as the thin white fabric as it stretched out over her friend's ample breasts, smiling stupidly she began to slam the invisible drum sticks down on to her invisible drums. More so to drag her attention away her flounder than out of any real wanting to join in.

Unlike Ino, Sakura found herself embarrassed more often than not, she always wondered about her friends shamelessness and seemingly unending self confidence. Ino smiled broadly in approval, starting to sing again as she leaned forward over her guitar.

Sakura leaning forward as well, looking each other in the eyes they started to sing together.

_The girls need a break-tonight we're gonna take. The chance to get out on the town,_

_We don't need romance – we only wanna dance, we're gonna let out hair hang down;_

_The best thing about being a woman, Is the prerogative to have a little fun, FUN FUN!_

The girls screamed the last two words, giggling as the song went on, Ino began to jump with her guitar and Sakura became more distracted, gaze becoming a little less guarded. Even the drums didn't seem to have enough to keep her focus where it should be, or rather where it shouldn't be.

_Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy- forgot I'm a lady, Men's shirts-short skirts;_

_Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-year, doin' it in style,_

_Colour my hair-do what I dare._

_Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-year, to feel the way I feel,_

_MAN I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!_

Ino flung back her head for one last wolf howl, exhausting herself into pants. She paused to catch her breath, letting Sakura finish up the song in a flourish of her invisible sticks smashing the tops of her invisible drums.

_I get totally crazy, can you feel it_

_Come, come, come on baby, I feel like a woman!_

Ino laughed mirthlessly, stumbling over to the CD player, hitting the stop button with her palm. Sakura slumped down on the couch and laughed, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

Walking back and smiling broadly, the blonde fell down onto the couch, lying with her back against her friend's chest. Sakura shifted so they were more comfortable and Ino could curl her legs up onto the couch as she turned against her chest, resting her head against Sakura's collar.

Ino placed a hand on her friends hip and took a deep breath, content and surrounded by her friends scent. Her plan had worked, Sakura seemed much more relaxed than she had yesterday.

Both chests heaved heavily, small laughs still erupting every once in a while. Ino tilted her chin up, looking at the bottom of her friends chin, unable to make out more than the tiniest bit of her expression. She smiled and decided to jab her a few more times while the shy shinobi was still giggling, the movement of her chest vibrating directly against Ino's skin.

"See, that wasn't so bad. No need for that look of sheer terror on your face when I woke you up," Ino teased, a sly smile turning up the corner of her pink lips. Sakura blushed and looked down into Ino's shimmering blue eyes, gently she reached to run her thumb over the smooth skin of the blonde's cheek. Her green eyes soft as she smiled at the curious blue greeting her movement.

Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's uncharacteristic action but otherwise didn't ask, she had dragged the girl out of bed and then danced in her underwear after all. Besides that, she was enjoying the touch and didn't want to spook her by questioning it.

"No, not at all, it was rather fun. We haven't done anything like that since our sleepovers at your parents house," Sakura beamed, hoping she would be able to keep her green eyes locked with Ino's just a little longer...

'Why do you have to be so damn perfect?' Sakura wondered silently as her fingers lingered on Ino's smooth cheek. She ran them down to corner of her lips, lingering before they traveled down to her chin. Sakura's gaze left the blonde's eyes to follow the trail her fingers were leaving, her heart rate picking un dangerously as she lost herself in the moment. She could smell the shampoo in her hair, the slight dampness leaking through her shirt.

Ino parted her lips slightly at the touch, letting out an involuntary and unnoticed shiver. She closed her eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath before working up the nerve to figure out what exactly her friend was doing. The small bud of hope that had been growing in her chest started to bloom as Sakura's fingers danced over her skin.

"Sakura?" Ino asked, arching her eyebrows, and if possible, an even more sly smile on her face than before. One of those smiles where it was obvious the other party was missing something. Sakura blinked, coming out of her trance quickly and dropping her hand, suddenly aware at how odd her actions had been. She pursed her lips and stared at the television, clenching and unclenching her fist against the seat of the couch.

"What?" She replied dumbly, blinking again and trying desperately to clear her mind and not look down Ino's tank top, which at this angle was all too tempting. With the way the blonde was lying, not only was it possible to look down her shirt, but her breasts were pressed together forming an invitational crevice that was impossible to turn down.

"Enjoy yourself?" The shameless blonde asked the bashful female; Sakura blushed deeply and looked away pointedly, refusing to meet Ino's stare. She could feel the baby blue eyes burning a hole into her skin and wanted nothing more than to run away. To run so far that she was too tired to work through the confusing feelings she had for her best friend, too tired to act on the urges her body bestowed her with.

"I'm just still half asleep, sorry," she muttered.

_'After that? No one would believe that excuse,' _her inner pointed out.

'Shut up,' she silently hissed back, scowling at the lightening wall behind the black screen.

"It's not like I mind," Ino purred, doing her best to make her friend blush just a little deeper, while studying her reaction for some sort of clue. She knew the other shinobi could be immovably stubborn, if she wanted answers she needed to trick them out of her.

Sakura's breath caught, 'what exactly does that mean?' Her eyes instantly wandered back to the sexy blonde still lying against her chest, intending to use her expression for some sort of clue. Ino's body language had always been easier to read, especially during one of her teasing streaks, which this seemed to be.

"Ha! That certainly didn't take long!" Ino chortled, her eyes closed as she tilted her head back a little more, snuggling into the crevice of Sakura's neck. For all appearances she didn't seem to mind and simply enjoyed the effect she had on the girl she lay on. Sakura's temper flared, the short wick burning down to the end of her patience. She resisted the urge to push the other girl off, becoming a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Why was it her that Ino seemed to like to tease the most?

"What's your problem Ino?" Sakura huffed, demanding an explanation for the treatment she was receiving. Her heart clenched and she shook away impossible thoughts.

'There's no way I am going to admit I was checking out my best friend and certainly not to her, that would... I would lose her for sure.' Sakura thought somberly, agreeing to her assessment.

"I was just teasing, Sakura," Ino tried to assure her. "It's not like I think you're gay or anything," she giggled, "or, maybe I do." The same sly smile covered Ino's face. Sakura froze staring at the blonde, mouth open.

Ino looked at her friend after a moment, noticing the seemingly unhinged jaw and frozen expression she asked more seriously, butterflies fluttering in the back of her throat.

"Sakura, _are_ you gay?" A slight twinge of hope she couldn't hide entering her voice.

Sakura closed her mouth and then opened it again. 'No, I'm just shy and you tease me a lot, that's all,' she tried to argue with herself but she knew it was futile. She had known for a while that beyond a doubt attracted to Ino infinitely more so than any guy she could remember. It wasn't the first time the thought had entered her mind.

'I can't tell Ino that though, what would she think lying half naked against me?' Silently she thanked god - if there was one - that she wasn't a guy and didn't have to worry about certain things when she was aroused.

"Sakura?" Ino tried again, her blue eyes concerned as she sat up and looked at her friend, scanning the smaller females face, trying to read her - trying to confirm her suspicions.

Sakura opened her mouth again, but couldn't form the words. 'See, now she's moved away, she's probably thinking I'm a freak.'

Turning away from her friend's scrutinizing gaze, Sakura's eyes began to water. 'How did this happen? Just deny it you idiot! It can still be fixed, I don't want to lose her again...' She thought back to the night before when she had allowed her lust to almost reveal her secret. 'It's all Ino's fault for suggesting this stupid sleep over anyways, _just like when we were kids_ she said,' Sakura mimicked the blondes voice inwardly. 'When we were kids Ino didn't insist of flirting without any thought behind it!'

"Sakura..." Ino tried once more, her voice gentle this time. The distressed girl turned to look back at her friend, a forced smile on her face, ready to deny everything and blame it all on shock or something semi-believable... she wasn't sure which yet.

Sakura froze, caught in absolute shock.

Ino leaned forward from where her legs were folded between Sakura's. Gently placing one hand on either side of the flustered shinobi's neck, pulling Sakura closer to her. The space between them disappeared as Sakura watched, unable to react or do anything to indicate acceptance or refusal.

Ino pressed her lips against her childhood friends, letting out a soft involuntary moan at the pleasure erupting from the touch.

Warmth washed over Sakura. Her mind raced in it's search for some form of logic, or explanation as to why what was happening was happening. It didn't make sense. She let her eyes drift closed, her hand shaking as she reached forward and ended up settling on Ino's thigh, welcoming the contact.

Ino took Sakura's movement as encouragement, tilting her chin, unwilling to break away lest the moment end. She wanted nothing more than to wrap the essence of the pink haired kunoichi around her and stay snuggled in her warmth.

She felt her pulse rate pick up and let a hand travel to tangle in the short, messy locks brushing against Sakura's neck. Her lips parted, letting her soft pink tongue run against Sakura's bottom lip, causing a shiver. She fought the urge to press deeper, to taste the nectar trapped inside the confines of Sakura's mouth. Ino forced herself to reluctantly pull away, Sakura already looking disbelieving into her friend's lustful and uncertain eyes as they opened.

"Ino...?" Sakura asked, her face was a permanent red, her body stiff and vibrating. The question was left undefined, the clarification was unneeded. The corners of Ino's lips twitched as she leaned back, settling against her calves folded underneath her position. Unable to hold the confused look Sakura had fixed upon her, she turned to study the fabric of the couch, hiding behind the veil of hair her bangs granted her with.

"It can't be that much of a surprise can it?" Ino asked, grazing her fingers across Sakura's cheek, unable to cure herself of the addiction that screamed at her to keep skin contact with the girl. Carefully, she pressed her palm against Sakura's flushed cheek. "You mean, you didn't know? I'm not exactly subtle, Saku..." Ino's lips twitched into that lopsided grin again as she studied her friend's shocked face.

"But, why..." Sakura breathed, still unable to formulate any stream of coherent thought to figure out what was going on. She could still taste Ino on her lips, could smell the blonde on her skin and her skin lit on fire under her touch.

"Why didn't I tell you?" Ino laughed nervously, an odd sound for the confident girl. Her eyes ran over the other girls face, flickering between her eyes and lips.

"Because I love you, I always have, dork. It would have been awkward to tell you, seeing as I didn't know how you felt. Or if you felt anything..." Ino's hand paused running her fingers through Sakura's pink hair, she smiled nervously. "I didn't want to lose you again; I couldn't bare it... not again"

Sakura's mind froze, like a machine trying to load too much information at once. 'She... she loves me?' Kept playing over and over again in her mind, but no matter how many times she played it over, it made no more sense than the last time. 'No, I heard her wrong. But how...?'

"You aren't exactly subtle either you know," Ino teased, nervously shifting her weight as she watched for any type of reaction, any clue, "you light up like a Christmas tree at even the smallest things, I've caught your eyes wandering on more than one occasion as well." Ino explained, giving Sakura an out if she chose to reject her. Her resolve began to waver, maybe she had read her wrong. It had just seemed so... right. Maybe she had forced the picture to form out of desperation and had seens things that weren't truly there.

Sakura looked at her dumbly, mouth slightly open again and her mind still working through what she was hearing.

_'You idiot, she just confessed to you! Are you really going to sit there like a brainless, dribbling zombie? Say something!'_ Sakura's inner self yelled at her.

Ino began to wonder if maybe it was too much, too fast. She didn't want to ruin everything they had. The look on her face, when she had trailed her fingers down her cheek, it was just too much. The look in her half-lidded eyes, the desire that was there. The way her lips had parted as if to move and capture Ino's own, she had felt as if she couldn't resist.

"Sakura," she started again, stopping when her friend reached up to grab the back of her neck. Ino didn't move, waiting to see what she would do.

'Fuck it,' Sakura's thought to herself, staring into Ino's blue eyes.

The kiss wasn't gentle, it was needy, lustful. Sakura's fingers ran over the blonde's tank top, sliding down to her hips, rubbing sensitive skin as she let herself release everything she had been holding back. Her lips parted, searching for Ino's tongue as she pushed harder in to the kiss.

Ino gasped, surprised and aroused by her counterparts sudden ferocity. Sakura's tongue fought with Ino's, wrestling in a a series of twirls and flicks. Within seconds Ino found her back pressed against the seat cushion with Sakura on all fours, towering over her.

Sakura's lips left hers, drifting down to her neck, nipping and licking her skin with sloppy kisses that left a wet trail.

'She tastes amazing,' Sakura thought lustfully, sucking on the blondes pulse point, calling forth a slight moan. The rose haired ninja bit at her love's skin gently, taking in everything she could about the experience. Her taste, her smell, the way her fingers ran up her sides and tightened their grip when she found a particularly sensitive spot.

Ino bit at her fellow shinobi's ear, tugging playfully until her lips were once again preoccupied.

Sakura's lips left Ino's again for a moment, peppering her cheek with soft kisses as she worked along her jaw line.

"I love you too," she whispered into the blonde's ear, lust thickening the words. When she looked back, Ino's eyes glistened with tears and Sakura smiled.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

End chapter two! Hope you all enjoyed, the action will be picking up soonish. I cut out a lot of the previous version of this chapter and replaced even more. To those who read the original version, I hope I have improved upon it.

Thanx for reading, - Kiravu


	3. Leaving the Leaf

**Pink Crush**

**Chapter Three**

**Leaving the Leaf**

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Ino! Ino, are you home? Please, it's important!" Naruto's voice washed through Ino's living room window, progressing around to the front of her apartment as he moved invisibly on the other side of the walls. His fist pounded on the wooden green door, causing it to shake as the lock turned and he flung the door open, stopping in his tracks as the scene in front of him unfolded. His mouth formed a wide 'O' under his wind-lashed blonde hair.

The last thing Naruto had expected to see first thing in the morning - on Ino's couch - was two of his best friends making out with dishevelled clothes.

Only Ino seemed to keep any semblance of calm as she quickly pulled her hand out from under Sakura's shirt, pushing the smaller girl off of her so she was hidden in her embarrassment from Naruto's gaze. Sakura hunched over behind her calm guardian, pulling her loose pyjama shirt tighter around her frame. Ino checked with her quickly, half expecting the rage prone girl to turn into a demolishing crew on the unsuspecting dobe.

"Sakura... what...?" Was all the male shinobi could mumble, earning a glare from Ino, visibly torn between yelling at Naruto for entering without waiting or seeing what was wrong with Sakura. Being walked in on was embarrassing sure, but it wasn't the end of the world. Besides, people were going to find out anyways, this wasn't the best way but you rarely get to do things the way you want.

"Will you shut the door?" Ino snapped, slipping her hand into Sakura's and squeezing reassuringly. Naruto shook his head, in an attempt to clear it, stepping inside the door and pulling it shut. His gaze flickered between Ino and trying to see past her to Sakura.

"What's so important that you couldn't knock, Naruto?" The tall blonde asked, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to straighten her shirt; doing her best to remain calm. Only a slight blush, and annoyance flaring up her usually soft eyes, marring her appearance. When he didn't reply right away she tried again, "Naruto what's the emergency?"

Sakura had her back to the pair, pulling her nightgown shirt even tighter around herself, the fabric rippled and protested at the strength she was exerting on the fabric. In less than an hour she had been outed to her best friend, confessed her feelings, and now Naruto knew... and Naruto can't keep a secret. Sakura chewed nervously on her lip, slipping deeper into thought.

"Well I went by Sakura's house first, but she wasn't there..." He smiled, scratching the back of his head, his orange jacket opened at the front to show off his black t-shirt that stretched out over his muscled chest. Dangling in front was the silver pendant Tsunade had given him, the same one he has worn everyday since. "I was told she was here but I didn't know, I mean... uh well," he stumbled over his own tongue, obviously not sure what to say, shifting his footing, uncomfortable with the situation he had found himself in.

Ino followed his look and glanced back at Sakura who appeared lost in her own thoughts, still burning a bright crimson. She resisted the urge to comfort the girl, knowing it would only embarrass her more while Naruto was here.

"Why do you need Sakura, Naruto? Did something happen that you need a medical nin?" Ino enquired, trying to piece together the puzzle since Naruto was apparently incapable of it, starting to become angry,

'How much of an emergency could it be that he is so easily distracted?' She growled inwardly, Worry inking out from every thought in her mind to cover them in the sole thought of the girl behind her. 'I can still feel her body heat,' Ino thought inwardly, letting her eyes close for a brief second as she steadied herself.

"We have information about Sasuke," Naruto replied, remembering why he had come. His body language changed instantly from flustered and embarrassed to seriousness, his shoulders rolled back as the look on his face turned to stern. "That's right! We have firsthand information about Sasuke!" He said it again, confirming and returning to his original agenda. "Hurry, we are setting up two squads and the old hag asked for both of you, we don't have a lot of time!" He explained, looking to both of them.

"Of course, we'll be right there, but you need to wait outside," Ino answered, Sakura seemed to perk up hearing that, whether it was the information about Sasuke or about being left alone she wasn't sure.

Sakura slid her bare legs off the couch and padded quietly into Ino's room, ignoring both sets of eyes that followed her, she shut the door shortly before Naruto repeated the notion on his way out. 'Well the girl has always had a strong sense of duty,' Ino frowned, worried, she followed.

Mechanically, Sakura began to change, not even bothering to try to hide from Ino's gaze, or possibly not even noticing. Ino watched her hands as they dragged her loose shirt up, showing off toned abs and a thinness to her that worried the blonde. Right before Sakura's breasts were revealed, apparently not caring who was watching or even noticing she was being watched, Ino cleared her throat and turned away. Deciding it would be better to give the girl some form of privacy.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked over her shoulder, listening for any sort of reply. She chewed on her lip, uncertain of what to do.

"Sakura?" Ino asked again, hearing a soft curse behind her and a ruffle of clothes. She heard the sound of her bathroom door closing, instantly followed by the shower being turned on. Letting out a deep sigh, Ino decided to give her a moment to herself. As much as she liked to talk things out instantly, Sakura had always liked to think things over before approaching them.

This time, it would be better to let her do things the way she was comfortable with. Ino walked back into the kitchen, opening the cupboard that held all of her dried meals, already sitting in a prepared duffel.

Grabbing the bag, she tossed it by the front door and walked back into her room, opening the first of her two closets. Inside, organized and set up on racks and pegs covering the sides and walls, were all of her tools. Everything from scrolls, to paper bombs, kunai, and so on. She grabbed her pouch and leg straps, setting the appropriate tools onto her rumpled sheets.

Ino paused, letting her eyes linger on the messy sheets, lost in the memory of last night when Sakura had almost kissed her. She could have let it happen, there would have been no one to interrupt their quiet confessions and kisses. It just didn't seem right that they would begin that way, she had to stop her. Besides that Sakura was practically having a panic attack without any help.

Looking back at the closed door, the soft sound of running water emitted from behind the closed plank of wood, Ino let out a deep sigh.

Stepping up behind the door, she steadied herself and knocked gently, her knuckles rapping against natural wood.

"Sakura, do you have everything you will need?" She questioned, pushing aside the question she truly wanted to ask. She had decided to give the girl time, and that was what she had to do.

A moment later the water shut off and Ino heard the sound of wet feet stepping down onto the tile in her bathroom. Soon after, Sakura opened the door, looking miserable with a fluffy purple towel wrapped around her small frame.

She glanced into Ino's eyes but couldn't hold the look, pushing past the blonde to find the set of clothes she kept at her friends home. This wasn't the first time she had been called on a mission while staying with Ino. With the increasing amount of fights Sakura has been having with her parents, it seemed like she lived at Ino's more than her own home.

Usually, Sakura would unfold the couch and make it up. Last night wasn't the the same as usually, nor was this morning.

Sakura walked past Ino, pulling out the bottom drawer of Ino's dresser, the drawer that had been given to her a while ago. She pulled out the clothes she would need, a packed pouch already set beside the folded garment.

Setting the items on Ino's bed, her eyes moved to rest on the weapons Ino had already set out briefly before returning to what she was doing. Turning her back, Sakura dropped her towel and reached for her sports bra.

Ino blushed, not expecting the shamelessness Sakura would display. She noted how thin the girl looked, her ribs easily visible in the morning light. Hip bones poking out under her milky white skin, even her legs looked thin except for the hard muscle that flexed as she moved.

Ino ducked inside the bathroom door, ignoring the discarded clothes on her bathroom counter as she turned on the shower.

~o~

Shortly later, both girls raced over the rooftops of Konoha. Sakura's foot touched down briefly, her knee bending as the muscles in her thigh and calves bunched before releasing the built energy to propel her onto the next rooftop. Black spandex shorts clung to her like a second layer of skin, running up over her stomach and half way down her biceps.

Her pink skirt flapped around her waist, brushing half way down her thighs with a thick belt around her hips. The skirt partially hid the bandage wrapped around her thigh, bracing the muscle for the strenuous exertion placed on it.

Sakura's calves are covered in boots that run up to the bottom of her knee, meant to protect her shins from the brush they would be racing through. She reached forward, propelling her body as a leg shot out to catch the next step and coil under her weight, lightening the blow and reducing the shock wave of the movement. Her hands are layered in their usual black gloves, cut off about the first knuckle and at the base of her wrist.

Her vest rippled in the wind rushing past the pair, a darker red with the crest of her family clan on the back.

Ino shook her head, looking away from her friend, convincing herself the stern gaze had nothing to do about this morning. It was Sasuke, Sakura hasn't forgiven him. It was always about finding Sasuke, Sakura was just as obsessed as Naruto.

Steeling herself, she saw the front gates come into view on the horizon. Her outfit was similar to her friends, the main difference the colour and cut. Where Sakura covered her frame in the black spandex, Ino showed off her arms and stomach.

Where Sakura had pink and a dark red, Ino kept a simple dark purple. Her skirt is cut shorter than her friends, with bandages wrapped around the top of both of her thighs. A V-neck vest dipping down to show off the top of her cleavage, cut half way up her stomach.

Long, silky blonde hair flowed in the air behind her, tied back in a strong ponytail so it would stay carefully out of the way. Unlike Sakura's boots, Ino work simple black open-toed shoes, fishnets covering her knees and elbows for the protection the shoes wouldn't give.

Ino wondered, not for the first time, if she should change to something more suitable for combat instead of style. She was a long range fighter, and rarely got into hand to hand combat, so her outfit had to be versatile so she had free movement. It didn't matter, there wasn't time to change it now. (1)

The girls touched down moments later, the last to arrive at the already crowded gate. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at them, doing a quick, silent headcount.

Beside him stood Choji, happily munching on a bag of corn nuts. The larger boy wearing the garb typical for his bloodline. Thick, long red fabric covers his muscled frame with metal plates running down his chest and thighs, shoulder guards in place, hanging down over his biceps. His legs are covered in loose black pants, leather boots tied tightly around his calves.

Neji pushed past Sakura who barely noticed his passing, refusing to move either out of stubbornness or because she didn't want to move closer to her partner. Ino frowned but didn't say anything, turning to smile brightly at Hinata who waved a hello. The two Hyuugas are dressed in the beige style typical of a Hyuuga. Neji is sporting a simple button up tunic with black shorts, his hair tied back three quarters of the way down, holding the unruly mess away from his face.

Hinata's outfit is a little more varied, a light purple making up the body of her jacket, with beige running down the arms as well as covering the hood. Dark blue pants cover the entirety of her legs, hiding all unnecessary skin from view. She smiled up at Naruto who blushed and scratched the back of his head, ruffling his blonde hair, his trademark smile brightening up the world for everyone surrounding him.

Only Kiba appeared out of place, standing alone with Akamaru sitting by his heel. The large white canine whined at his master, looking over to the two new recruits with a soft wag of his tail. Kiba folded his arms across his thick chest, muscles twisting around his taut forearms and biceps leading into wide shoulders. His skin tight, black muscle shirt ran up to his collar and half way down his biceps, fabric stretching and twisting.

His jacket is sitting on his pack on his other side, baggy black pants hanging down to his ankles, thick boots covering his feet as he glowers out the front entrance. His dark red fang tattoos looking much more fierce under angry eyes.

"Alright," Shikamaru started, letting out a deep sigh and waiting until he had everyone's attention. "Here's the plan, listen up, because I won't repeat myself."

Sakura gave the tactical ninja her full attention, ignoring the concerned look Ino had her fixed with.

Giving up, Ino turned to listen to her teammates explanation of their mission.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

_1 – I've changed some outfits a little._

_Alright, chapter three done. I literally deleted three quarters of this one and just rewrote it, sometimes I wonder how in the world I used to think some of my grammar was right. I'd like to address a question some of you might have. _

_Where Naruto said two squads was not a typo, and yes I can count, there are eight of them. During the Chuunin exam, Kakashi detailed the formation of squads. While teams normally consist of three and one leader. So while all of our ' teams ' that we follow throughout Naruto had three students, there are actually four shinobi in the team. The leader is included in the number._

_As our favourites grow older, and begin to lead their own squads, there are now four of them in one squad, one of which takes up the leader role._

_Anywho, until next time, -Kiravu_


	4. Journey to the Snake's Lair

**Pink Crush**

**Chapter Four**

**Journey to the Snake's Lair**

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Alright, as you all already know, I'm the squad leader for this mission," Shikamaru sighed. "What a bother," he paused to rub the arch between his eyebrows. "As you all probably already know, Sasuke Uchiha has been branded a rogue ninja. Our mission is to either terminate," Shikamaru stared down Naruto who had let out an audible growl.

"Or, if we can manage it, bring him back to the leaf village for questioning. One of our ninja has been tracking Orochimaru for a couple of weeks and has finally managed to get word back to the Hokage in time for us to move.

"Apart from capturing Sasuke, the second part of our mission is to figure out what Orochimaru is up to. We have received word that he is close to finishing a new, nasty jutsu.

"In a best case scenerio we would capture Sasuke, kill Orochimaru and anyone he is working with and bring back all the information we can. However, that isn't realistic. So, let's stick to the basics for now. Is everyone clear?" Shikamaru asked, looking around the group with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"Are we the only ones going?" Ino asked, receiving a sarcastic look from Shikamaru. Clearly telling her he wasn't happy with the job either.

"Tsunade can't spare anymore ninja at the moment. Which is why our main goal is to spy. We are not to engage Orochimaru directly if it can be avoided. We don't need any heroes." Shikamaru slanted his gaze to Naruto who smiled and shrugged it off. Whether he got the message or not is up for debate.

"Alright," Naruto's fist pumped into the air, "let's get going!" The spunky blonde's energy ripped through the air intertwining with his teammates. Shikamaru smirked and took up the lead position as the group pierced through the front gates.

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand, smiling broadly as he took off after Shikamaru, dragging the Hyuuga behind him, who looked all too happy to be there. Chouji jogged lightly catching up to his best friend, and already delving into conversation. Neji and Kiba walked quietly side by side, Kiba's hands stuffed into the pockets of his fur lined coat, glaring at Naruto's back; jealousy burning in his fierce brown eyes. Once the four in front of him took off, the Inuzuka and Hyuuga males sprinted into the trees after their teammates.

Ino looked at Sakura, who started to follow behind Neji and Kiba, her shoulders slumped. She paused to casting a nervous look at her friend, looking as if to say something before pushing the notion away.

Ino moved to walk beside the kunoichi, throwing her a reassuring smile. Sakura returned the gesture with a weak smile of her own before turning her attention back to the road ahead. Both girls took off, leaving the entrance to the Leaf village barren once more.

~o~

Shikamaru led the troupe towards the Earth Country, west of the Fire Country. The report they were going on said, Sasuke and Orochimaru had been sited moving their base to a peninsula south of the village Suna, in the Earth Country.

The report also said, Orochimaru was using test subjects for a new water style jutsu. It was undetermined what exactly he is trying to do at the time his message was received.

The eight young shinobi were selected because they ninja with the most experience dealing with the rogue Uchiha. Besides his two team mates, Naruto and Sakura, five of the others were his class mates and grew up with Sasuke, which included Hinata, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino. Neji was the only one selected who did not have extensive time with the Uchiha; he has however, studied Sasuke like an overzealous rival. That, accompanied with his byakuugan and his experience with his teammates, made him a must in the selection process.

It also helped that both Naruto and Sakura had some experience in dealing with Orochimaru. However, since this mission was focused on dealing with Sasuke, and simply finding out information about Orochimaru's plan, Tsunade did not feel she needed to send ninja who were more familiar with the snake lover.

The Hokage didn't have high hopes for the capture or death of both or either of the bingo book ninja. At the worst she was hoping to gather information and stop whatever Orochimaru was working on. The best would be the capture of either of the rogues. If they are left alive they can still speak. Dead would also be acceptable as well, so long as the body was returned to the Leaf village and not left for a rival nation to retrieve and study.

This was the first time that Orochimaru had set up a new base this close to the Leaf Village and they had received information about the location change very early into the process. They had a very small window of opertunity to strike when he wasn't at his best, which explained the sudden rush to move out.

Within the day, the eight shinobi pressed the Earth country's borders. The terrain changed under their feet as they ran, lush green grass and thick trees changed into dingy brown, with the trees becoming slowly less and less frequent. The ground hardened from the lack of moisture in the area, hard rocks littering the uneven terrain, and making the footing treacherous.

Shikamaru led the group directly west over the borders, north of their destination. As the sun hit the middle of the next day he turned them south, pushing down towards the peninsula. Kiba and Akamaru began to smell salt on the wind, signaling that they were growing closer to the sea side base. As the sun was setting on the second day both squads were already well pressing their limits, they could go no further on no sleep and little rest.

The ground had regained some of its green; a small patch of trees lined a small rocky hill. Shikamaru slowed his pace and held up his hand, fingers pointing skyward he signaled the halt.

"This is far enough, we are only a few hours away and we need to recuperate." Scanning the area he walked into the cover of the trees, followed by his weary teammates. "Get some rest, don't light any fires, or set up any tents, we don't need to let them know we're here."

"Then what will we eat? I need a warm meal with meat!" Chouji complained, his hand resting on a rumbling stomach.

"That's why we brought rations," Shikamaru replied evenly, quickly cutting off his best friend's next protest.

"Naruto, you and Hinata have the first watch, in two hours Kiba and Neji will take over. After that it will be Choji and I followed by Ino and Sakura. We set out at the first sight of dawn." Seven heads nodded in unison, breaking up to work on their tasks and get as much rest as they could.

Naruto left with Hinata, heading up the hill with Hinata's Byakugan already activated, the blond had his fingers linked with his girlfriends, chatting amiably and seeming to still be full of energy even after two days of travel.

Again, Ino noticed Kiba watching as they left hand in hand, this time hurt was an unmasked emotion on his face. As soon as they were out of sight he turned to Akamaru who let out a sympathetic whine, and dropped to the ground. Akamaru raised a paw, sitting on his haunches and allowed Kiba to check his paws for rocks or cuts. Before moving to groom the dog's silky white coat with a wiry brush.

Ino raised an eyebrow before looking around the rest of the camp. Shikamaru had his eyes closed, already drifting to sleep on a thin, unrolled mat. Choji was sitting beside him, legs crossed as she sorted through the promised rations, talking quietly without either care or notice to his friends restful state.

Ino shook her head, a smile lifting the corner of her lips at the sight of her teammates, they never would change.

She turned her attention to Neji who had already finished his dinner and was lying down on his mat, his back to the rest of the squad, carefully positioned so no one would have any unnecessary reason to disturb him.

Subtly as possible, Ino watched Sakura who was sitting on the scratchy patch of grass beside her, debating between two sets of rations and looking equally disgusted with both of them. If she could think of a way to get away with the suggestion, she would have told her she should eat both of them and then some.

Her eyes found a scrape along the back of the kunoichi's calf and Ino took the presented opening. Grabbing a salve from her bag she walked over and plopped down beside the startled kunoichi. Sakura looked at her curiously, glancing at the salve in her hand with more than a little apprehension.

"Don't look at me like that, I promise I don't have a trick up my sleeve," Ino smirked, twisting the lid off the brown container. "Let me see your leg, it's got a scrape on it." Before she had even finished her sentence Ino had grabbed Sakura's leg and pulled it over top of her crossed ones, knee bent up so she could get a good angle on the scrape.

Sakura blushed and glanced nervously around camp, making sure they weren't being watched. Not that there was anything remotely sexual going on, but Ino dismissed it figuring she was still jumpy after Naruto. "Don't worry I'm not going to jump you, I can control myself when I want to." Ino winked as she dipped her fingers into the thick white paste and dabbed a bit gently on the scrape.

Mortified, Sakura looked away, chewing on her lip.

'She always does that when she's thinking, it's adorable.' Ino watched her until Sakura looked at over suspiciously. Matching her gaze Ino flashed her trademark cocky grin before rubbing the salve into Sakura's skin, careful not to press too hard. When Sakura relaxed under her touch, Ino worked up the courage to address what had been bothering her since they'd left.

"You know, you've been really distant. If you're worried about Naruto..." Ino tried to start before Sakura cut her off, looking away again, her face contorted as though she had something bitter in it.

"It's not Naruto." Sakura scrunched up her nose, nervous and uncomfortable as she tried again. "At least, it's not all Naruto." Her muscles tensed under Ino's touch and she resisted the urge to pull her leg away.

"Then what is it? You said..." Ino tried, trying to sort through the other possibilities. Sakura sighed, giving Ino a soft smile.

"I know what I said, Ino." Sakura pulled her leg out of Ino's hands and turned her back. "I'm a medical nin, I can heal my own injuries, I don't need you wasting your medicine on me." She moved away and unrolled her mat silently. Readying herself to try and get as much sleep as possible she forced out one last thing. "But thank you, for your concern."

Ino reached out to touch her friends turned back before pulling her hand back and shaking her head, pulling out her own mat and resolving herself to let the matter drop, for now.

~o~

From the top of the hill Hinata watched the entire scene unfold. She watched Ino's gentle touch that seemed too familiar to simply be the touch of a friend. From her spot, she would see the tiny movements of both girls. The small cues of stress and discomfort before they both suddenly went to sleep, dinner long forgotten. Confused by what her Byakugan was telling her but her ears could not hear, she glanced at the blond standing beside her.

"N-naruto, is there s-something going on between Ino and Sakura?" Hinata asked, her purple eyes gazing up into his blue full of confusion, not comprehending what was going on. "I thought they were best friends, did they get into a fight?"

Beside her Naruto practically jumped out of his skin, eyes wide as his mind wandered to the worst possible thing Hinata could have seen. He plastered a nervous smile on his face and replied while scratching the back of head, knowing full well if word got out about his two friends, it would be his head on the line.

"What do you mean? What did you see?" He asked, silently praying that Hinata was wrong, or he was about what he thought she thought.

"I'm not sure, Ino seemed nervous, which is odd for Ino." Hinata twirled her fingers, forefingers rolling around each other as she tilted her head down and whispered, thoughtfully, "they both seemed really uncomfortable, and Ino was rubbing Sakura's leg and they both just suddenly broke apart."

"Oh boy," Naruto sighed and looked down to the camp, barely visible through the treetops. "I'm not sure what's going on to be honest Hinata, and I'm not sure it's my place to say anything."

"Oh," Hinata pulled a strand of her navy blue hair behind her ear, fingers trailing over the top ridge. "I hope they will be okay," her meek smile tickling her lips with worry. "The last time they got into a fight, it tore everyone apart." Naruto watched her and then with his usual energy pulled her into a tight hug, crushing her against his chest.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay," Naruto's fingers gently brushed against her cheek before his hand touched the side of her neck, thumb gently pushing her chin to tilt upwards. "It's a promise."

Hinata blushed deeply as she smiled at him and closed her violet eyes, Naruto gently brushed his lips against hers, kissing her tenderly.

"Aren't you two supposed to be on watch?" Kiba growled from behind Hinata, his fangs showing as he glowered at the taller blonde. Naruto glared back but didn't release Hinata from his arms, still holding her protectively, and possessively, in his arms.

"What do you want, Kiba?" Naruto asked evenly, Hinata twisting in his arms to look at her teammate, the expression on her face a silent plead for them not to fight again.

Kiba opened his mouth to reply before his eyes caught Hinata's and his fists bunched up, turning his head to stare at the dirt. Claws dug painfully into his palms as a trickle of blood ran down over his fingers, shoulders shaking with frustration and anger. "There's still a lot of time before your turn to stand watch, you should get your rest for the fight tomorrow instead of picking them now." Naruto offered, his eyes hard, giving Kiba a way out without having to admit defeat.

Snarling, Kiba turned and stalked off, unable to meet Hinata's eyes that seemed to look through him like they did everything else.

As Kiba disappeared back down the hill, Naruto sighed and looked down at the woman he was holding, speaking quietly with confidence in his claims.

"He loves you." Hinata's eyes closed as she continued to face the direction he had disappeared.

"I know, but I chose you... I've always and only loved you; I just wish Kiba didn't have to get hurt because of it." Hinata buried her face into Naruto's chest, reveling in his warmth and taking comfort.

'What am I going to do?' Naruto thought to himself.

The watch was switched that night without incident, Kiba and Naruto passing each other silently, only the slightest brush of elbows giving any reference to the feud brewing between them.

Kiba and Neji ended their turn on watch duty without incident, only a slight scare of a wild horse causing any disturbance. It was a tribute to Neji's exhaustion that he hadn't spotted the horse before it had come close enough to rustle a brush while grazing.

Shikamaru and Choji took over exactly on schedule. Choji took the opportunity to eat an early breakfast while his friend stared up at the invisible clouds, hidden in the dark.

"Choji, I need you to promise me something." The ebony haired shinobi began, shifting a stalk of grass to the opposite side of his mouth, looking more and more like Asuma.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Choji asked, whispering in the darkness as a gust of wind blew over them, stirring up the sleeping oasis. The genius ninja didn't reply right away, contemplating things a little more and setting the pieces in order.

"If things go badly tomorrow..." He paused again, rolling up, using only the muscles of his stomach to carry himself. "I need you to find everyone, and get out." Choji studied his friends serious expression, an odd sight on his friend.

"Of course, you are the leader of this mission, I will do whatever you want me to." Choji replied, somber. The generic answer seemed to steady his friend somewhat.

With only a half smile, Shikamaru fell back against the grass, lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Everything will be okay, Shikamaru." Choji said into the silence after a while, easily overpowering the symphony of the crickets playing.

Shikamaru sighed, "yeah, I guess. Man, this is such a bother." Choji smiled, knowing his friend was alright and continued eating his midnight snack.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

**Alright, for those of you who remember the old Pink Crush, you will notice a few things. First, the beginning of this, and the ending of last chapter are completely new. As well, two new scenes were added and a lot was cut. On top of that, the second half of this chapter had to be shifted back in my attempt to even out the content in each chapter.**

**I hope, once again, this chapter is just as good and hopefully better than the original. Drop a review, let me know what you think.**

**Thanx, - Kiravu**

**PS, I have a new fic posted called 'The Passage of Twin Disciplines' you should read it, it's the first fic posted closer to my best genre :3**


	5. Love and Torture

**Pink Crush**

**Chapter Five**

**Love and Torture**

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Ino quietly woke the sleeping kunoichi beside her who had moved in her sleep to rest with her arms wrapped around Ino's solitary one that stayed by her side. Almost instantly, Sakura let go of the blonde and busied herself rolling up her cot as quietly as possible.

With a few hand signals, the girls left to take over guard duty without waking their sleeping companions.

Shikmaru and Choji saw them coming and were already half way down from the small hill they were using for lookout before Ino and Sakura had a chance to motion to them. With a wide yawn, Shikamaru passed with a single raised hand and a pat on Ino's shoulder.

It was easy to determine the spot the others had used, all of the grass in a solitary spot was pressed down beside a log that had been used as a backrest.

The pair remained quiet for a while, Ino felt the familiar itch to start some sort of conversation and kept glancing nervously at the medical nin. "Do you," she began, finally settling on a starting point, "regret the other morning?"

Sakura didn't answer immediately, the only outward sign that she had heard the soft spoken question at all was in the shoulders, in the way she tensed subtly.

"Yes," she whispered finally.

Ino felt her heart break at the words, in an angry gesture she turned to glare spitefully into the horizon. "But, not for the reason you are thinking." Sakura finished, moving her hand to slide it over the one Ino had tearing into the grass between them.

"Then why?" Ino demanded, tears burning at her baby blues, relaxing her hand so Sakura could slip her fingers between hers.

"It's complicated, Ino." Sheepishly, Sakura looked up into Ino's baby blues. In the moonlight they almost shone white blue, borderline silver and the sight of them took the kunoichi's breath away. Every piece of Ino seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, her hair, her skin, it all looked like a tapestry someone had woven together to dictate the ultimate example of beauty.

It broke her heart to realize she had this, and she would have to let her go when all she wanted to do was bottle her up, to keep her to herself so no one could touch her, or enjoy Sakura's muse.

"And what, you don't think a dumb blonde like me could understand something you count as complicated?" Ino teased, noting the way Sakura was looking at her and feeling herself blush under her hungry look. She decided it wasn't lack of attraction that had the other kunoichi questioning them, if there was a them.

"No!" Sakura insisted, unconsciously moving closer to the blonde. "It's just, it wouldn't be fair... to you, if we were to... you know."

"It wouldn't be fair to me if we had sex?" Ino asked, a light laugh in her voice. Sakura stuttered, tongue tied. Amused, the flirtatious blonde rolled onto all fours, letting go of Sakura's hand. She crawled over to straddle the other girls hips, pressing her exposed stomach against Sakura's chest leaning down to whisper into her ear. "I think you're wrong, but we could test your theory, if you don't agree."

"That's not it either, Ino..." Sakura replied, tilting her head back to expose her neck as Ino kissed down her jawline to the tender skin. A shiver ran through her body, pink hair hanging down to whisper against the top of the log her back was against.

Ino ran her tongue up the side of Sakura's neck, stopping at her pulse point to suck on the throbbing skin until the girl under her lips whimpered quietly. The heat in her body that hadn't been satisfied that morning before was back with interest, she wanted to talk first, and have her dessert after, but she couldn't find the will to stop. Ino wanted the girl under her touch desperately, she had wanted her for years, and being teased by her presence, her heat and her touch without any satisfaction was pushing her limits of control.

Using her last ounce of restraint, Ino tore her lips off of Sakura's skin and licked them to take in every fleck of flavor she could savor.

Sakura, thankfully, looking down at the girl, shielding her exposed skin so it wasn't presented in such a tantalizing way.

"Then what?" Ino asked, focusing on steadying her breathing so her thoughts couldn't wander as easily. Sakura let out a deep sigh, raising one hand from where it was resting on the blonde's hips to graze her nails over Ino's exposed stomach absently.

"It's my parents, Ino... you know I'm the first of my clan in generations to make it as a full fledged ninja. They expect me to marry another shinobi, a man, and carry on the bloodline. They would hate you if..." Sakura focused on a spot on Ino's shoulder, unable to look her in the eyes. She was being a coward, she knew that. But, it wasn't just her parents, it was her entire clan. Ever since her graduation, they had been expecting her to marry a successful ninja and have kids in the Haruno name. It was by some cruel twist of irony that she could never look at a man in that way.

"Is that what you want?" Ino asked quietly, finally catching the emerald eyes she had been looking for. "Just tell me that's what you want, and I'll leave." Her jaw became taut as she forced the words out.

"You know what I want," Sakura smiled, sadness tinging her expression and her eyes. Ino shook her head in reply, not letting such a vague answer pass.

"No, tell me, what do you want?"

Sakura closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "I don't want to hurt you. If we were together, so many people would hate you, they'd blame-"

"No, that's not what I asked. I asked what do **you** want? This has nothing to do with anyone else." Ino turned Sakura so she was forced to look at the blonde with a pinch on her chin.

"It's always been you, I've always wanted you, Ino." Sakura whispered, hating herself for saying the words and wanting more than anything, to hear them back. "I love you," she was being selfish, Ino could have anyone. Why was she insisting on living a life where she would be hated. Or worse, hidden. Ino was a prize that should be shone off with pride, not hidden away like the stepchild in the attic.

"Then shut up and kiss me," Ino pressed her lips against Sakura's, waiting for the other girl to react. Her patience was rewarded when the other kunoichi began to move her lips against hers. Ino felt Sakura grate her tongue against her bottom lip, and moaned with want, letting the stronger female ravish the caverns of her mouth willingly.

~o~

The next morning, Shikamaru quietly woke his companions. While battle preparations were being made, and breakfast was being eaten between tying boots tighter and wrapping bandages, he crouched and waited.

Sakura and Ino joined their teammates as soon as the their guard duty turn was over. No sooner had the entered the camp, did Sakura separate from the blonde, earning a sad smile following her turned back.

Hinata watched the pair with reserved apprehension, shooting Naruto a worried look. The Uzumaki shrugged and scratched the back of his head, unable to think of anything to say to comfort his girlfriend.

Neji and Kiba joined the crowd quietly waiting for orders, Choji behind them double checking the camp to make sure that all trace of their temporary presence had been swept clear.

"Alright, listen up, because I don't want to repeat myself," Shikamaru addressed the group. "From here, Neji will be in the lead partnered with Kiba." He turned to look at the assigned pair, "keep your eyes and noses peeled forward." Kiba nodded, setting a hand on top of Akamaru's head.

" Hinata and Naruto will take up the rear, Hinata will keep a watch behind us while Naruto will take care of any problems that come up with his shadow clones." Naruto nodded, a smile already on his lips at the promise of a fight.

"I will be in the second group with Chouji." Shikamaru paused before continuing.

"Chouji, you will need to cover myself as well as Sakura and Ino. Ino and I will work to take out any henchmen we come across with my Shadow Strangle jutsu and her Mind Devastation jutsu." Ino nodded in reply, her trademark, somewhat evil grin already in place. Chouji grinned and gave a thumbs up, unable to talk with his mouth still full of food.

"You got it," he beamed, swallowing.

"Last, Sakura you are our medical nin, so save your chakra and let the others fight. Focus your efforts on keeping everyone alive." Shikamaru finished the assignments. Sakura gave a curt nod, her expression unchanging.

"Our first obstacle will be the front door... as with past hideouts, I'm sure there will be a chakra reinforced entrance. Also, it will likely be the only way in or out, so remember where it is at all times.

"Additionally, if we take too long getting around it then the entire base will be warned and the mission will be a failure before it ever starts. That being said, Sakura, do you think you can knock it down?" Shikamaru asked, turning to look at the kunoichi in question.

Sakura smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Oh yeah."

"Good," Shikamaru nodded, letting out a deep sigh, "once we're inside we will be staying together. Getting split up would be a disaster. Do not take any bait or run off alone," Shikamaru paused and stared directly at Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know!" Naruto assured him.

"If we come across either Orochimaru or Sasuke we need to surround them and take them down quickly.

"Expect them to go for the killing blow, be careful and don't do anything risky, we don't need a dead would-be-hero.

"Neji and Hinata work together to shut off their chakra networks. Kiba and Chouji try to disable them as much as possible. Ideally, if we could land either my or Ino's technique for a quick finish, that would be nice." Shikamaru smirked, "but highly unlikely.

"Not to mention we wouldn't want one of ours hit with a mind devastation. If you're going to take a shot, do it very carefully, Ino." Looking around his squad the fearless leader yawned before continuing.

"The worst possible thing that could happen would be if we end up having to fight both of them at once. If that happens, they may try to split us up. Or we might be overpowered. If either happen we need to retreat, let's remember our primary objective is to find and destroy whatever it is Orochimaru is working on. Now, having said that, once were inside, Hinata, I want you to use your Byakugan and search the base bit by bit until you find it. Once you do you need to alert us so we can move there and take it out."

"So, you want us to just leave even if we have Sasuke or Orochimaru cornered?" Naruto asked, trying to hold his anger in check.

"No, a best case scenario would be to eliminate one or both of them, but that is highly improbable to happen. So we need to make sure we do the damage we can while we're here, and get out _alive_." Shikamaru finished, waiting for Naruto to challenge him, the blond only grumbled and otherwise held his tongue.

"Remember to stay together... things will get hectic, do not let them split you up." As Shikamaru finished his speech, the seven shinobi around him listening intently, Shikamaru sighed. "Alright, any questions?" He knew it didn't matter how well planned out this mission was, there were simply too many factors he couldn't control once they were inside. He just hoped it away enough that no one would die today.

"What do we do if we do get split up?" Hinata asked tentatively, lowering an awkwardly raised hand when she realized it wasn't necessary.

"That's why we have Kiba and Akamaru; they should be able to sniff out anyone if they get separated from the group.

"But, if you do get separated, try to be as careful as possible and make your way back to the rest of the group. Don't pick any fights you can't win." Shikamaru answered, looking at the hound ninja. "Any other questions?" When no one said anything more, they quickly double checked their camp before moving into the assigned formation.

Shikamaru let out a deep sigh, and reluctantly signaled for them to start their journey to the Snake's Lair.

~o~

The eight Leaf shinobi crouched in the long seaside grass, their presence hidden in the yellow tangle under the glow of the rising sun. Silently, Shikamaru signaled for the two squads to move in. Without need for further prompting, they took flight and leapt into the front entrance of the hideout.

Sakura shouted loudly, rolled back her shoulder, and readied her strike. As her fist collided with the chakra enhanced door, a loud crunch resounded throughout the entrance. The large stone slab cracked, caving in from the point of impact, in the shape of a bowl. Beneath them, the ground shook from the force of the blow.

Naruto gulped and whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad she couldn't hit like that when we were genin. I would've needed a medical nin every five minutes." Shikamaru sighed at his comment, and shook his head.

Sakura paused to glare over her shoulder at the carefully oblivious blonde, and struck the door again. The door imploded with a loud crack as rocks tumbled down the hallway, into the base. Stone fragments rained down, settling as a cloud of dust enshrouded the shinobi entering the unfamiliar territory.

They ran straight down the hallway and met no resistance, even with that reassurance, they remained on constant guard.

The walls on either side of the hallway looked smooth, although no one stopped to test the observation. They appeared to be traveling down a long stone tunnel, with no doors in sight.

The sound of feet touching down with light steps against the stone caused an echo that resounded throughout the hallway in both directions. Stealth didn't matter at this point, their dramatic entrance had been loud enough for anyone in the region to hear. All that mattered was speed and efficiency.

Suddenly the hallway ended where another hallway began, forming a T.

"Neji, check down the right. Hinata, take the left. Quickly!" Shikamaru ordered. The two Hyuuga shinobi slid to a stop and turned to face their assigned direction. Hands flashed with the proper hand signs, before the cousins added the finishing touch to their jutus.

"Byakugan!" They both said in unison, veins rose to the surface of their skin as their blood line activated. After a few seconds, Neji spoke.

"There's a large room with pillars about two-hundred feet ahead of us at the end of this hallway. There are multiple passageways and doorways branching out from that point."

"T-there's nothing this way, it's a dead end." Hinata announced dutifully, a slight hesitance in her answer.

"Right, then let's go," the lazy shinobi stated. As a group, they turned and went down the left passageway, towards the large room Neji described.

As they entered the room both Neji and Hinata reacted, doors all around the room opened as multiple ninja rushed to attack the intruders, clad in black and brandishing kunai.

"Tch, get ready," Shikamaru frowned, as he grabbed a kunai knife from his back pouch and readied his stance.

"Not a problem!" Naruto grinned and rushed to the front of the group. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he cried. The nine tailed fox disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared as fifty clones scattered throughout the room, each one wearing the same smug grin.

"Naruto, try to remember the plan," Shikamaru snapped, his glare cutting through the settling smoke and resting on the army of spunky blond Narutos, when a loud cry sounded beside him.

Sakura raised her fist in the air and spun her body on its vertical axis. "Earth Style: Ground Tremor Jutsu!" She screamed, as her fist slamming down against the floor. From the point of impact, wave like ripples pulsed out like the thralls on a stormy ocean.

As the ground flew up across the room the encroaching enemies were unsettled and thrown around like rag dolls, and disappeared in puffs of smoke, followed closely by Naruto's surprised Shadow Clones.

"What's up with her today?" Neji scoffed as the entire structure shook and he worked to stay balanced.

"Sakura! I said don't waste your chakra!" Shikamaru scolded, quickly accessing the situation. From the doorways that had spawned the first set of assailants, more appeared and started for the Leaf shinobi in an seemingly unending stream.

To make matters worse, the pillars that supported the room had begun to crack and buckle, threatening to give way, after Sakura's jutsu.

"Damnit!" Shikamaru cursed. "Everyone, let's go! We need to get out of this room before it caves in!" The two troupes reacted instantly, focusing their chakra to their feet as they ran across the walls toward the far end, one after another, to avoid the ruined floor and the spawning enemy clones.

No sooner had they made it into the connecting room, had thick slabs of stone slammed down, separating the shinobi from their comrades in groups of two. Skidding to a stop, they found themselves unable to see in the sudden darkness, reaching for weapons, ready to fight if the opportunity presented itself.

"So nice of you to join usss..." Orochimaru's voice resounded through the walls, loud enough for everyone present to hear. "Sssasuke has so been hoping to see hiss dear old friendsss," Orochimaru laughed as though he had told a very amusing joke.

Sakura looked around in the darkness, unable to see anything but black. Drawing a kunai from her back pouch she crouched and went into a defensive position. Sliding her feet cautiously over the floor, she tried to gather as much information as she could, while putting her back to the nearby wall.

"Naruto... no, _Ninetails_," Orochimaru emphasized the title as if it were a cruel playground nickname. "He has been waiting to see _you_ in particular. I think, I will be nice, and grant him this wish." Sakura heard Naruto's enraged screams, but the words were muffled by the thick wall between them. She listened closely, deciding he must be past the division to the left of the room where she was trapped.

From the same direction, the sound of rock scraping against metal sounded before their captor continued. "As for the rest of you... well, why don't you just see where your doors lead," he laughed. Sakura noticed that a wall behind her began to lower into the floor, revealing a bright lamp and what appeared to be the only way out.

"Sakura," Ino said softly behind her. Spinning around, Sakura looked at her friend. Her heart leapt and her stomach churned inside of her. She was glad to be out of the blackness and she was glad that she wasn't alone... But, of course with all her inner turmoil, fate would place her with Ino. She didn't have time to think about Ino right now. Sakura forcibly turned her focus back to the team as a whole. She glared angrily at the wall that separated them from Naruto and the others. Smiling, she focused her chakra on her fist as it connected to the wall.

A sickening crunch followed as Sakura's knuckles shattered under the impact. The wall remained unchanged, not even the slightest dent interrupted the flawless surface. Sakura cried out as agonizing pain tore through her arm. She recoiled her fist and held her uninjured hand over her wounded one protectively, her face contorted in pain.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled running over to her as she crumpled onto the floor clutching her hand to her chest.

"Tch, tch," Orochimaru chided. "Did you really think I wouldn't have a plan for Tsunade's new pet project and her inhuman strength? I thought you would be smarter than that. Although, I must admit you did also inherit her temper as well. You see, Sakura, those walls absorb any chakra that is directed at them. Which means my dear, that the chakra propelling your arm wasn't drained, but in your fist it was, leaving it unprotected and crushed by your own strength." Orochimaru laughed again. "Rather ironic don't you think?" (1)

Beside her, Ino snarled and reached for her friend's mangled hand to assess the damage done. Sakura pulled away from Ino. She turned her back to the girl and tried to concentrate chakra into her left palm. A wave of pain ripped through her body and she lost control. The small amount of concentrated chakra dispersed into the air.

"Sakura, don't be stupid. Let me see," Ino snapped at her as she reached for her hand a second time.

"Don't touch me!" Sakura barked.

"You didn't seem to mind a few hours ago." Ino retorted, her lips pulled taut as she successfully managed to get a hold of Sakura's arm. Sakura thrashed about and threw her off instantly, angry and panicked. While she knew that currently repairing the damage done should be her priority so she could find the others, she couldn't help but worry about someone hearing them, or more specifically, Ino.

"Fuck you!" Sakura spat, trying to ignore the pain she just caused by moving so quickly. She positioned herself away from Ino and rested her back against the nearest wall. She took a deep breath and tried again to form the chakra around her left hand.

"Right now isn't the best time, ask me again later," Ino replied without missing a beat, a sheepish smile curving up her soft pink lips as she tried to lighten to mood. She moved to kneel in front of her friend, extending her hand in a request.

"Now, let me see your hand," she lowered her voice to a whisper, pleading. "Please..."

Sakura glared, her resistance wavered as she looked into Ino's worried eyes.

"I don't understand, what happened? Was it something I did?" The blonde kunoichi asked, she couldn't stop the stab of pain she felt when Sakura had fixed her with a resentful glare. Her voice cracked as her blue eyes began to water. "P-Please S-S-Saku..."

Sakura looked at her friend and felt her heart break. Her throat suddenly felt very dry and the words were hard to find. _'Ino', _she thought_ 'I...' _Sakura looked down, ashamed, unsure of what to say to her.

"Right now really isn't the best time..." She started.

"Like hell it isn't!" Ino growled back. Sakura's evergreen eyes snapped open in surprise as Ino pressed her lips forcefully against hers. She placed her uninjured hand on Ino's chest, feebly attempting to push her away before the strength left her arms, and instead she curled her fingers in the fabric of her top, pulling her closer.

Ino pulled her lips from Sakura's and crumpled against her friend, her forehead resting on the younger shinobi's shoulder.

Shocked, Sakura didn't react at first. When her addled brain started to make sense of the situation she gently wrapped her good arm around the blonde shinobi. She pulled her close -careful not to put pressure on her bad arm- as she cried with her, Ino's tears staining Sakura's clothes.

"Please... I can't lose you again." Blonde hair fell loose, creating a wall between the girls as she pulled Sakura closer, her arms wrapped around Sakura's neck.

"Please," she coughed wiping away her tears, her body trembled as she let all the hurt out.

"Ino," Sakura whispered, still in shock as a sudden agonizing wave of pain raked her body and she buckled against Ino's embrace.

"Give me your hand," Ino whispered. She wiped away tears with the back of her hand. This time Sakura didn't protest as the blonde took her hand. Ino's brow furrowed in concentration. Her medical training wasn't nearly as advanced as her friend's, she had to focus completely on her task. Slowly, the bones began to repair and wayward splinters were removed. Muscles were reattached and Sakura's hand looked less like a mangled mess. Ino breathed heavily and stopped, sitting on her butt with her legs awkwardly curled up beside her. A drop of sweat rolled down her cheek and dropped onto her bandaged legs as she looked at her handiwork. It wasn't as good as Sakura could have done, but at least it was useable, and the bleeding stopped.

Sakura retracted her hand from Ino's grasp, looked it over and tried to flex her fingers one by one. She could control chakra into and around her hand as well as move all her fingers again; most of the pain was gone as well.

"Ino," she tried again, looking at her tired companion. "Thank you."

"This really is a pain." Shikamaru sighed heavily as the doorway formed in front of him. He had heard Orochimaru's comments and Sakura's agonized scream to his right. The squad leader had cringed. Looking over his shoulder he saw Hinata with her back to a wall, whipping her head around wildly as if she were as blind as a bat.

"I-I-I can't," she stammered, in a panic, "I-I c-can't see anything, everything is just bl-black.. even my Byakugan."

"Hinata, calm down, remember what Orochimaru said, any chakra directed at these walls will be absorbed. That includes your Byakugan. Try looking down this hallway instead. Make yourself blind to these walls," Shikamaru told her, his tone patient and even, enough to soothe the panicking girl.

Nodding, Hinata took a deep breath and looked down the hallway instead. Surprise written all over her face as she blinked.

"There's a massive lab... and storage area at the end of this hallway, and..." She gulped, "Bodies... lots and lots of bodies."

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his forehead before rolling his neck and shoulders.

"Right well, I guess we should get going then."

"What about the others?" Hinata asked, worry evident on her face as she glanced in the direction of Naruto's roar.

"Right now we can't do anything for them, we will have to hope they can take care of themselves and get out alive," Shikamaru replied seriously, eyes focused on the entrance to the laboratory. His expression hardened and for once, he looked determined.

On the opposite side of Sakura and Ino(2) was Naruto and Kiba. As Orochimaru had begun to talk, Naruto's temper flared dangerously. Canines elongated to resemble Kiba's who stood beside him, Akamaru standing behind the two shinobi.

"WHERE IS SASUKE!" Naruto roared into the darkness before the doorway was created. As soon as the opening appeared, Naruto lurched forward, Kiba's hand shooting out to grab hold of the enraged ninja's arm.

"LET ME GO, MUTT! OR I SWEAR I'LL TEAR THAT HAND RIGHT OFF!" He screamed, body trembling in rage as he yanked his arm away.

"Naruto, wait!" Kiba snarled. "It could be a trap," as Kiba finished his sentence a crash sounded beside them followed by Sakura's strangled cry.

"Dammit," Kiba cursed, glaring at the wall between them as Orochimaru started to lecture Tsunade's pupil.

"OROCHIMARU!" Naruto roared again, the air around him becoming hot as the scars on his face began to widen. Kiba grabbed hold of the front of Naruto's orange suit.

"Calm down," he growled, fangs gleaming in the lamplight. "We need to think this through before we charge in."

"Get. Off. Me." Naruto spat out the words, glaring down at Kiba as he grabbed hold of the dog shinobi's wrists. Akamaru growled threateningly.

"Not until you calm down," Kiba countered before Naruto's knee met his gut. Kiba dropped his hold and doubled over, holding his stomach as he snarled at the ninetails. "You're going to get us both killed, you idiot."

Naruto had his back turned and was already purposefully walking down the presented passageway.

At the rear of the pack Neji and Choji listening silently as Orochimaru talked to their companions. Neji deactivated his Byakugan, as he ran into a similar problem as Hinata. They could not hear Sakura's cry or Naruto's roar between two thick slabs of the rock wall. Neji however became concerned when Orochimaru began to lecture Sakura.

"What do you suppose happened?" Neji asked, as the doorway in front of him and Choji opened.

"Sakura punched the wall and it didn't break down." Choji stated simply, as if it should be obvious. "Her mood is sour enough that it seems that's her solution for life at the moment. Punch it." Shrugging, the male shinobi looked down the lit passageway, long shaggy brown hair trailing down his back.

"I suppose you're right," Neji conceded, also looking down the hallway. "Well, shall we?" He asked his unlikely partner.

"Yea, let's go, I'm getting hungry," Choji smiled warmly, seemingly unworried. Neji smirked at his comment and took off down the hallway, followed closely by his teammate.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

**(1) The wall was designed to get rid of chakra aimed it, and nothing more. So since Sakura's technique infuses all her muscles with chakra only the point of impact was drained – being her fist. So her shoulder, back muscles, and the rest of her arm was still chakra empowered to drastically increase her strength. However with the chakra drained from her hand it was like squishing a piece of paper between two rocks, crushing it instantly. Ya – Ow. (Ps, this is just how I envision the jutsu to work, since they never actually explain it.)**

**(2)The order, since I found it confusing myself with them all looking different ways is Neji + Choji closest to the way they had entered. Next was Shikamaru and Hinata, third was Sakura and Ino, and First was Naruto and Kiba.**

**Alright, revamped c5 done. Sorry it took forever to get out! I've been more than moderately obsessed with my new fic, The Passage of Twin Disciplines. I'll try to update this a little more consistently.**

**Until next time, - Kiravu **


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